Trish Brooking

Stories of Migration in Children’s

Literature: disapora and dissonance in
shaping cultural identities

Full details of the Congress and

further proceedings are available at
http://www.ibby.org.uk/congress2012
Trish Brooking University of Otago
Dunedin New Zealand
trish.brooking@otago.ac.nz
} Kia ora koutou – Greetings everyone
} Ko te Tamaiti te Putake o te Kaupapa – the
Child – the heart of the matter
1. Investigate how migration is constructed in
narrative through explicit journey and implicit
transfer of culture
2. Examine pedagogical implications for the
use of such literature within the classroom
} Invite reader to take active role in
constructing meaning
} Writerly texts – dialogical, based on creative
dialogue between reader & text (Nikolajeva, 2010)
} Think with our eyes!
 New Holland - Australia
New Zeland
South Island – Te Wai
Pounamu –Pouyoenammu
North Island – Te Ika a
Maui - Aeneinomouwe
Gavin
Bishop Map produced by
Captain James
Cook 1770
 Signing of
Marae – Meeting House Waitangi
Treaty of
Contact zones of New Zealand Waitangi 1840
history
} Identity, family, turangawaewae (home)
} On-going quest for understanding and
harmony (Bishop, 2012)
} Displacement, isolation
} Enigmatic imagery
} ‘Entering in’ to the visual narrative (Updyke)

}Works you never touch bottom with….they’re like a battery

that never runs out (Paton, 2012)
‘materiality’ incorporated
into the narrative enhances
storytelling (Rozario, 2012)
Margaret Mahy
Hans Christian Andersen
Award 2006
} Whenua – land, placenta
} Contact zones – complexity of relationships
as a legacy of colonisation
} Possibilities for a wider range of interactive
relationships
} Kai – food Tangata – people
} Ideas of nourishment – cultural, economic
} Cultural values – tapu (forbidden/sacred); ahi
kaa (keeping home fires burning)
Ethnic mosaic of NZ’s population indicates growing
proportion of Maori, Asian and Pacific populations
reflecting changes in migration patterns
} Curriculum revision – values the histories and
traditions of all its peoples
} ‘culture counts’ –developing relationships
} classroom practice - text selection and
development of multimodal literacies
} using conversation model (Clay, 1998)
 Require active readers who:
} use their prior knowledge
} can read the verbal and
visual grammars of text
} are confident to participate in discussion to make
connections & take ownership of their learning
} I like a teacher who gives you something to take home to
think about besides homework Lily Tomlin
trish.brooking@otago.ac.nz
qwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmq
wertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqw
 

ertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwer
 

tyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwerty
33rd IBBY Congress Translations and
Migrations: Moving Forward with
Children’s Books
uiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyui
Stories of Migration in Children’s Literature:

opasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiop
diaspora and dissonance in shaping cultural
identities
8/25/2012

asdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopas
Trish Brooking
 

dfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdf
 

ghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfgh
 

jklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjkl
 

zxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzx
 

cvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcv
 

bnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbn
 

mqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnm
 

qwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmq
 

wertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqw
(Slide 1)

Kia ora Koutou

Ko te Tamaiti te Putake o te Kaupapa – The Child – the Heart of the Matter

Stories of Migration in Children’s Literature: diaspora and dissonance in shaping cultural

identities

(Slide 2)

The aim of this paper is twofold – that of investigating how migration is constructed in narrative
through explicit journey and implicit transfer of culture, and – 2nd examining pedagogical implications
for the use of such literature within a classroom context. What follows is an exploration of three texts
comprising two picture books, The House that Jack Built by NZ author and artist Gavin Bishop; The
Arrival by Australian author and artist Shaun Tan; and a junior novel by the late NZ author Margaret
Mahy Kaitangata Twitch. I hope to examine how diverse cultural concepts are embedded within the
texts, reflecting to some degree, the diaspora created as a consequence of migration. Of interest too, is
the effect of the emergence of distinctive literatures in terms of enriching classroom programmes. As
a teacher educator I will argue that an examination of texts located in migratory experience will
stimulate ownership of text related conversations and help contribute to a classroom environment of
critical reflection. Not only do children become acquainted with the explicit journey portrayed, but
also the migration of ideas implicit in the narrative.

(Slide 3)

So how is migration constructed, and why these texts? Much has been written about the way in which
text and pictures enter into a transaction, yet a wordless picture book (The Arrival) continues the rich
tradition of hybridity associated with this genre, that continues to re-define itself in relation to its
audience. The use of ironic tone and ruptured narrative imply a reader (and the notion of the implied
reader comes under scrutiny in children’s literature scholarship) who is visually literate and willing to
take an active role in constructing meaning. Some, but not all picture books, offer rich sites for
experimenting with representations of pictorial, cultural, and linguistic codes. Nikolajeva (2010)
extends Barthes’ distinction between readerly and writerly texts, the former being less demanding, or
monological, and the latter, based more on a creative dialogue between reader and text, or dialogical.
Each of the illustrated texts I have selected demonstrates an expectation that the reader will actively
attend to this nuanced art form that communicates on a range of levels. While Bishop’s text situates
its verbal and visual interaction wrapped within a traditional Western based nursery rhyme as
indicated in the title, Tan’s text relies exclusively on visual communication, emphasizing what my
colleague in the Art Department would remind us of; to think with our eyes.

(Slide 4)

Explicit journey is foregrounded in the picture book text The House that Jack Built written and
illustrated by Gavin Bishop in 2000 and re-issued this year. The interplay between the verbal and
visual elements features a re-telling of the traditional English rhyme which charts the progression of
European migration to New Zealand with an illustrative counterpoint documenting the contact zones
of European and indigenous Maori cultures. British migratory experience frames the opening
sequence, where the reader is invited to enter into a particular relationship with the text. The

1  
 
environment of a theatrical production welcomes interest in the dramatic narrative, similar to the
interest stirred in the eighteenth century British imagination related to Cook’s exploration of the
Pacific.

(Slide 5) Indeed the maps in the text are reminiscent of those produced by Cook. Bishop’s recreation
mirrors the phonetic translations of Maori names for both islands, and the newly (re) named countries
parallel the Dutch legacy of exploration in the South Pacific, foreshadowing new layers of ‘worlding’
to use Spivak’s term (Harasym, 1990, p 1) which means making an object to be understood, in this
case, by inscribing formerly uninscribed territory. Fast forward to the end of the eighteenth century
(1798 to be exact) and migrant Jack begins his journey from a Hogarth-like depiction of London to
New Zealand, a land clothed in Maori custom. So, ensues the early settlement of New Zealand,
ostensibly positioned through Jack’s individual experiences, yet observed and ultimately challenged
by collective indigenous interests, culminating in the NZ Wars of the 1860s. Alternating double-frame
pages foreground the spirit and tradition of the land with the Maori creation story framed in the first
border, followed by sequences that illustrate developing interactions between the ever increasing
settlers, and the indigenous population. These sequences highlight diverse cultural concepts, whether
related to religious or educational beliefs, or attitudes to land ownership, and they foreshadow conflict
within these embryonic contact zones.

(Slide 6)

Developing interactions signal the effects of implicit transfer of values, and in the process capture
aspects of the colonization experiences in New Zealand. The juxtaposition of cultural traditions
surface in the interplay between verbal and visual text and engage the reader in a thought provoking,
enriching journey of their own, into the contact zones of New Zealand history. The sepia effect and
restricted colour palette intensify the evolving narrative, resulting in a fusion of naturalistic and
stylized ways of representing the world. Bishop foregrounds questions of cultural difference in the
imaginative way he references different artistic styles. Jack’s perspective and those of the other
settlers are revealed through a naturalistic medium associated with European art of the early
nineteenth century. Stylised imagery from traditional Maori carving accompanies the Maori
perspective. Intellectual exchange also becomes apparent in the visual text with the use of folk art
adorning the marae, blending European and Maori art forms. Therefore the complexities and nuances
of the colonial experience are foregrounded without resorting to simple binary conclusions. This
picture book probes the historical grand narrative and offers a version that interrogates the complexity
and interconnections of the range of early contact experience. As Clare Bradford (2011) has observed,
Bishop’s depiction of the conflict ‘…dismantles triumphalist accounts of settler achievements in
New Zealand’ and ‘reclaims indigenous histories telling the past from the perspectives of people
formerly objectified by colonial discourse’. (p. 179.)

(Slide 7)

The use of devices, such as visual metaphor, help develop navigational awareness of cultural terrain.
Visual metaphors become probes that help interrogate understandings of culture and identity. The red
door is a recurring motif with its open/closed, departure/arrival entryway signaling a revisioned

2  
 
cultural and architectural future, a metaphor for a different dwelling place. Despite the militaristic
closure to the narrative, the positioning inside the marae suggests how mutual respect nurtures on-
going dialogue to ensure that diverse cultures can co-exist and interact positively without dissipating
an essential dynamic. This text reflects a postcolonial perspective that tries to ‘reassert the
epistemological value and agency of the non-European world’ and anticipates that it ‘holds out the
possibility of thinking our way through and out of the historical imbalances and cultural
inequalities produced by the colonial encounter’ (Ghandi, 1995, pp 44, 176). Bishop himself
acknowledges the importance of this text for him ‘It speaks of the things I care about – identity,
family, turangawaewae’ and he asserts the continuance of the relationship in his statement ‘Both
Pakeha and Maori are intertwined in an on-going quest for understanding and harmony’. (Bishop,
2012). A work in progress!

(Slide 8)

The construction of migratory experience in Shaun Tan’s The Arrival offers an explicit journey
documenting displacement, and accentuated by enigmatic imagery that interrupts expectations.
Arrivals resemble narratives in that they encompass departure, journey and destination. But patterns
of concealment and the cinematic detail of this text build a layered narrative texture, one that slows
the reader down. I am reminded of Art Curator Justin Paton’s reference to John Updyke’s essay
which reminisces about his (Updyke’s) childhood reading of comics and the memory of ‘this state of
reading’ he attains which he describes as ‘entering in’ the imaginative world of that story or that
visual narrative. Paton concludes that with his current engagement in art, he experiences an adult
version of ‘entering in’ to an image, ‘wandering around inside the work and getting a handle on
it and….there are works…you never touch bottom with…they’re like a battery that never runs
out’. (Somerset, 2012, p. 37). Tan’s graphic novel produces a similar effect. While the structure of six
water-stained, parchment-like ‘chapters’ illuminates the book as artefact, it also details an explicit
chronology of departure, voyage and arrival, cultural interactions, employment, family reunion, and
concluding with a celebration of child agency, with a tint of blue pushing through the sepia-toned
narrative fabric. The visual text extends understandings about implicit transfer of culture through
sharply observed interweaving of layers of ideas and questions. So to employ Paton’s battery analogy
about works we never touch bottom with, how does Tan’s graphic novel fare?

From the outset the reader is drawn to what Australian researcher, Rozario (2012) refers to as the
materiality of the book where full use is made of page spreads, endpapers and covers to include a
variety of dimensional print effects such as the individual photo representations, the inspection cards
circa 1896 and 1912, that mutate into the current library catalogue publication data, and the mirror-
like reflection of a bilingual title. She argues that incorporating the materiality of a book into the
narrative enhances ‘a significant part of storytelling and (is) intrinsic to how a text is read and
indeed absorbed…..’ (Rozario, 2012, p.165). Exact placement of images frames views of the world
that foreground displacement with attendant isolation and confusion, underscoring the emotional
tension of the migrant, and elaborated through the choice of mixed media – graphite pencil with
digital colour. Detail captured through a backward gaze, as on the title page, or the minutiae of the
cameo scenes through a zoom lens, with alternating focus on the small and large canvas, evoke loss
and regret, yet foreshadow the textured role of memory in the narrative. And memory is central to
migratory experience, as a conduit for implicit transfer of culture, reflecting individual and collective
stories.

To employ Paton’s analogy again, about ‘entering in’ to the visual narrative, the non-specific nature
of the setting provides space for the reader to consider how new landscapes and experiences intersect

3  
 
with preconceived cultural expectations, in much the same way that new information is absorbed
through a lens of prior knowledge. Speculation about individual migratory circumstances develops
alongside awareness of the diversity of cultural concepts encountered, reflecting the diaspora created
as a consequence of migration. By constructing the migration experience as multi-layered back
stories, new angles on belonging are opened up for the reader. The kindness of strangers, who each
carry a story of struggle and hope, provide an antidote to the alienating city the traveller enters, with
its abject ‘foreignness’ – different language, flora and fauna, and customs –coupled with surrealistic
artwork suggesting fear, fragmentation, and sometimes, equilibrium. Landscapes are often sharply
contoured with angular lines and shadowy menace yet also portrayed in softer more benign hues,
always melding the ordinary with the strange. The triumph of the visual makes its point literally too,
as evidenced by the disconsolate immigrant’s attempt to communicate his need for accommodation to
no avail, until he draws a picture of a bed. The overall filmic quality of the narrative creates
multidimensional points of entry where the reader moves in and amongst the story in a non-linear
way. The journey of this book continues to the stage where the theatre programme notes emphasize
varied points of entry into the narrative, acknowledging that whether we are refugees, migrants, or
have simply been on OE, we know what it is like to be a fish out of water, to make sense of foreign
languages, to navigate unfamiliar streets, and to grapple with foreign customs. (Red Leap Theatre
Programme). Margaret Meek’s observation, that - writers want readers who are prepared to engage
with their ideas and to adventure with them in their writing, rewards those who ‘enter in’ to Shaun
Tan’s visual narrative. (Meek, 1991, p.163).

(Slide 9)

Like Bishop and Tan, Margaret Mahy, in her novel Kaitangata Twitch, provides exploration of fragile
social constructs, cultural practices and (dis)connections between past and present.

(Slide 10)

Mahy has chosen a peninsula setting closely resembling Banks Peninsula on Lyttleton Harbour
Christchurch, and in a prescient way the ‘twitch’ of the title refers to seismic activity. Kaitangata, the
volcanic island embodies an ancient mythology where violent events and encounters from the past
and present intersect, creating a dissonant context for protagonist Meredith to operate in, as she
navigates adolescent physical and metaphorical fault lines. Kaitangata Twitch offers a nuanced
exploration of issues related to migratory experience (historical and contemporary), and the
intersections between western and indigenous cultures. Like Gavin Bishop’s text, the effects of
migration underpin the narrative which positions the relationship with land as a central dynamic. Land
is viewed as part of ancestral identity, for example the word whenua means land and is also the word
for placenta. Meredith’s desire to save the island from a developer foregrounds environmental issues
and links back to historical claims of land guardianship and belonging.

Although Mahy’s novel carries no illustrative content the author observes that…. The sound of the
story is the illustration I write into it’. (Mahy, retrieved from Christchurch City Libraries August 3
2012). Mahy devises a complex and compelling ‘other’ reality that Meredith enters through her
dreams; a reality firmly wedded to traditional indigenous discourse on land as a living entity,
counterpointed by contemporary issues embracing language, culture and identity. The regular
earthquakes that punctuate the narrative echo the socio-political shudders surrounding submissions;
district schemes; new zoning policies; and land development, with attendant ‘colonizing’ effects, such
as the re-naming of ‘Old Creek’ to the more upmarket ‘Trident Cove’ (Mahy, 2005, p 10). In response
to her friend’s plea that, nothing ever stands still, and, we’ve got to have progress, Meredith replies,

4  
 
but it’s not progress to spoil a place, and (she), thought it was rather like welcoming the three little
pigs at the same time as you were welcoming the wolves. (Mahy, 2005, 113.) Competing interests
are evident in property magnate, Marriot Carswell’s vision, which is to plant some nice English trees
while Meredith counters that she likes it wild. (156). The taming of the landscape, and in New
Zealand’s case, transforming it into a better Britain, resonates with an earlier colonial settler approach.

(Slide 11)

The conflictual nature of the colonized/colonizer dichotomy is one that has been reconstructed in
terms of contact zones that foreground both the complexity of relationships as a legacy of
colonization, and, migration, and the possibilities for a wider range of interactive relationships (Pratt,
1992). Maori concepts and language are incorporated in Kaitangata Twitch in a way that respects
indigenous world views. The title literally translates as kai – food, and tangata – people, reinforcing
how ideas about nourishment, whether cultural or economic, permeate the text. Cultural concepts such
as tapu, meaning sacred or forbidden, expose readers to cultural values, and benefit current discourses
on sustainability and the environment. Televised in 2010 by Maori Television, Haunui Royal the
general manager of programming, commented This is the one story Margaret Mahy has written with
strong Maori themes and Maori characters…Meredith is the ahi kaa – the one who will keep the
home fires burning. It’s a Maori phrase and concept, but I think that figure can be seen in many
cultures. It’s universal. (retrieved Sunday Star Times 14.11.11). According to Bradford, transnational
texts, such as this one, offer a way of thinking about how children’s literature addresses and is
informed by diverse, complex influences, sometimes from a variety of cultures and languages.
(Bradford, 2011, p 1). In Kaitangata Twitch Mahy contextualizes particular ideologies of a nation
with a colonial history, where the histories of the colonizer and the colonized are represented. The text
interweaves the traditional tales of a European literary heritage alongside Maori mythology, with each
strand yielding insights into the shaping of national identities.

(Slide 12)

The emergence of distinctive literatures, embodied in the three texts I have discussed, plays a
significant role in enriching classroom programmes. New Zealand is a nation of many waves of
immigrants. As microcosms of society, our classrooms reflect increasingly diverse populations.
According to Statistics NZ the ethnic mosaic of New Zealand’s population indicates a growing
proportion of Maori, Asian and Pacific populations, reflecting changes in migration patterns. New
Zealand is expected to become more ethnically diverse in terms of people identifying with non-
European ethnicities and these proportions will be highest at the youngest ages. (Dunstan, 2010, p 13).
Texts that foreground experiences of migration offer opportunities for children to investigate different
historical knowledge and provide a conduit for affirming social and cultural identities. Coping in the
dual language environments of the home and family, and coupled with adherence to a generic youth
culture, can create a dissonance of purpose for first or second generation immigrants.

(Slide 13)

Recent curriculum revision, emphasises the needs of diverse cultural communities, and mindful of the
adage, ‘culture counts’, reinforces Evelyn Arizpe’s (2010) findings from her research project with 11
and 12 year olds. These findings confirm both the influence of culture on interpretation, and the role
text selection plays in facilitating adjustment of culturally diverse children to their communities. As
sociolinguist Basil Bernstein said, The culture of the child cannot enter the classroom if it has not
first entered the consciousness of the teacher.

5  
 
Both The House that Jack Built and The Arrival are texts that help children build visual literacy,
encourage questions (often left hanging), and discussion. It is problematic that still, the verbal text is
frequently privileged, so with minimal text in the former and none in the latter, these books invite
different reading pathways and require an active reader. As Nikolajeva observes, visual literacy is just
as, an essential component of a child’s intellectual growth, as the ability to read verbal texts.
(Nikolajeva, 2010, p. 27). Images communicate in many different ways and they are portals to
stimulate thinking and talking, about our world. With reference to The Arrival, Debra Dudek
acknowledges that readers negotiate a complex, culturally diverse community and may emerge with
a stronger understanding of, and respect for, cultural differences and the effect they have on
individual and group identities. (p. 155). In a classroom environment of critical reflection, thought
provoking questions are welcomed and encouraged from a young age. Dame Marie Clay, a leading
NZ educator commented on the importance of focused conversations which support students in their
literacy progress so that they develop the habit of being critically aware. She observes that ‘……if we
use something like the conversation model in our teaching and think about how to link into the
listener’s knowledge every time we hold a conversation, we might be more helpful to children, and
from our model they might learn how to make connections for themselves. Encouraging young
children to talk about their understandings is one way of helping them to make connections. (Clay,
1998, p. 32).

(Slide 14)

Multimodal texts such as those under discussion today, require active readers who: - use their prior
knowledge; - can read the verbal and visual grammars of the text; - participate in discussion to make
connections, and - take ownership of their learning. The light and shadow that dance in my three
chosen texts, suggest that moving forward with children’s books has never been so much fun.

References

Arizpe, E. in Colomer, T, Kummerling-Meibauer, B, and Silva-Diaz, C. (Eds) (2010). New Directions

in Picture Book Research. New York and London: Routledge.

Bishop, G. (2012). The House that Jack Built. Wellington, New Zealand: Gecko Press.

Bradford, C. (2011). “Children’s Literature in a global age: transnational and local identities”. Nordic
Journal of ChildLit Aesthetics, Vol 2.

Bradford, C. in Nel, P. and Paul, L. (Eds). (2011). Keywords for Children’s Literature. New York and
London: New York University Press. Pp. 177-181.

Clay, M. (1998). By Different Paths to Common Outcomes. York, Maine: Stenhouse Publishers.

Darnell, D. (1999). “An Interview with Gavin Bishop”. Talespinner. Issue 8, September, 1999.

6  
 
Dudek, D. (2011). In Nel, P. and Paul, L. Keywords for Children’s Literature. New York and London:
New York University Press. Pp. 155-161.

Dunstan, K. National Ethnic Population Projections. Retrieved from www.stats.govt.nz 1.8.2012.

Gandhi, L. (1995). Postcolonial Theory. Australia: Allen & Unwin.

Harasym, S. (Ed). (1990). The Post-Colonial Critic Interviews, Strategies, Dialogues Gayatri
Chacravorty Spivak. New York: Routledge.

Mahy, M. (2005). Kaitangata Twitch. NSW, Australia: Allen & Unwin.

Meek, M. (1991). On Being Literate. UK: Bodley Head.

Nikolajeva, M. in Colomer, T, Kummerling-Meibauer, B, and Silva-Diaz, C. (Eds). (2010). New

Directions in Picture Book Research. New York and London: Routledge.

Paton, J. (2012). Cited in Somerset, G. “No Static At All”. New Zealand Listener. Jan 28 2012. Pp.
37-38.

Pratt, M. cited in Stallcup, J. (2002). “Power, Fear, and Children’s Books”. Children’s Literature. Vol
30, 2002, pp. 125-158.

Red Leap Theatre Programme Notes. (2012). The Arrival. Auckland Arts Festival 2009 presented in
partnership with The Edge Winter Showtime Programme.

Royal, H. cited in Bennett, C. (2010). “Land of Inspiration”. Sunday Star Times. Retrieved
www.sunday-star-times/features 14.11.2011.

Rozario, R. (2012). “Consuming Books: Synergies of Materiality and Narrative in Picture Books”.
Children’s Literature. Vol 40, 2012.

Tan, S. (2006). The Arrival. Melbourne, Australia: Lothian Books.

7